Daily Edition

Brad Pitt, David Fincher in Talks to Reunite for 'World War Z' Sequel

Pitt is looking to his 'Seven' and 'Fight Club' director to potentially come in and rescue the project.

The sequel to zombie apocalypse thriller World War Z may yet come back to life.

The project recently lost director J.A. Bayona and, for all intents and purposes, looked like it was going to die on the vine. But producer Brad Pitt is looking to his Seven and Fight Club director David Fincher to potentially come in and rescue it.

Pitt, Paramount and Skydance have had meetings with Fincher to direct the follow-up, according to several sources.

It is unclear if a deal will be made, but Fincher is surprisingly open to the idea. The picky auteur tends to eschew the tentpole and sequel game, preferring to focus on original material or adaptation of elevated material, mostly of the gritty and grounded variety.

Fincher also has plenty of room on his schedule. The filmmaker has been spending time in TV land (he was a key player in House of Cards) but had two HBO series fall apart: Living on Video, about the early 1980s music video scene, and Utopia, which was to have starred Rooney Mara.

World War Z had its own production woes that were well chronicled, as helmer Marc Forster was sidelined as the third act of the movie was reconceived, rewritten and reshot. The intervention worked and the movie became a big hit, grossing $540 million worldwide.

Fincher, who last directed Gone Girl, also worked with Pitt on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.